Hundreds of Middle Eastern immigrants are in California jails after coming forward to comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities, only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars. On 12/18/2002, Iranians and others missing family members protested outside the INS office in Los Angeles. As originally reported on 12/16, a new order issued by Attorney General Ashcroft requires male non-citizen immigrants and visitors from 18 Arab and Muslim countries to be interviewed, photographed, fingerprinted and registered by federal authorities. Those who fail to comply face criminal charges and immediate expulsion from the country.

A lawyer describes the detainees as legal residents who in some cases may not have their paperwork in order due to government backlog. Islamic community leaders say many detainees had been living, working and paying taxes in the US for up to a decade and had families there. The INS refuses to release figures on the number of immigrants detained in the past week; corporate media reports that nationwide about 1/4 of the registrants are now in crowded detention centers.